The field of the disclosure relates generally to heat exchangers, and more particularly, to an apparatus for oil collection and heat exchanging for turbine engines.
Conventional turbine engine configurations having separate components coupled to a common shaft may require different rotational speeds to perform a desired function. For example, a turbine may have a required rotational speed that is significantly higher that a required rotational speed of a fan. To accommodate for this difference in speed a gear box (e.g., a power gear box (PGB)) may be utilized between the fan and low pressure turbine to allow each of the components to operate at different speeds. However, such gear box configurations generate a significant amount of heat due to, for example, mechanical and windage losses associated with rotating components of the gearbox, thereby creating a significant heat load burden on the engine. The inventors have observed that conventionally utilized mechanisms to remove heat (e.g., thermal circuits) are insufficient to efficiently remove the amount of heat generated by the gearbox. Moreover, adapting a conventionally utilized system to remove such an amount of heat would require a significant addition of weight to the engine, and thus, an increased drag on the engine.
Therefore, the inventors have provided a heat exchanger for turbine engines.